WWE RAW 10/28/2024: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.s weekly review of "WWE Raw," in this case, the Monday night go-home show for Saturday's Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia! There was some interesting stuff going on during this episode, from The Usos reuniting to The War Raiders becoming No. 1 contenders for the tag titles, and we're at least going to touch on pretty much all of it — though with respect, Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser is only getting a mention, and we're not going to talk about Seth Rollins and Bronson Reed putting each other through more backstage equipment. In some cases, we're actually more concerned here with what wasn't on this week's show than what was, particularly with Riyadh just a few days away.

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As always, if you want the objective details of Monday's episode, you should definitely check out our "Raw" results page. For those interested in the WINC staff's opinions, however, here are three things we hated and three things we loved from the 10/28/24 episode of "WWE Raw!"

Loved: The Bloodline slowly coming back together

In an opinion that might be a controversial one, I strongly feel that Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso should not reunite as a full time tag team due to how much effort has been put into making them singles stars (especially Jey). That being said, that doesn't mean that I'm not enjoying every second of the way that the two brothers are coming back together with the common goal of taking down The Bloodline.

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The thing that works so well in this storyline is the fact that WWE isn't trying to forget any of the animosity that Jimmy and Jey have had towards each other (as has become a norm for most of their storylines), and their match against each other at WrestleMania 40 only happened a matter of months ago. WWE is instead using it to their advantage and playing up the fact that Jey still has anger towards his brother for betraying him and sticking by Roman Reigns' side during their time in the original iteration of Bloodline. Adding Sami Zayn into the mix makes it all the more better, as Zayn had to break free from The Bloodline but is now reluctant to be dragged back into their issues with the lesson he learned from his time within the group. It all meshes together so well, and is being done the right way without trying to erase the shared history between the three men and Reigns.

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Written by Olivia Quinlan

Hated: Women's wrestling an afterthought yet again

I know we write a version of this complaint pretty often, but it needs to be called out when it happens, so don't blame us — blame whoever it is that occasionally decides women should get barely any time on a two-hour wrestling show.

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It's not just that there was only one match, or that the match was egregiously short. It actually lasted longer than I might have expected it to given the participants, but nobody is expecting any kind of classic out of Zelina Vega vs. Ivy Nile, and indeed, we didn't get one. The match was fine, but Nile really doesn't seem to be progressing as much as you'd expect her to have given how long she's been in WWE, while Vega taking another loss here just indicates that she continues to be one of WWE's most underutilized talents. It didn't help that what seemed to be the entire point of the match — American Made cheating to get a cheap win over the LWO — was basically rendered redundant later in the show, when American Made leader Chad Gable attacked LWO leader Rey Mysterio to cost Mysterio and Dragon Lee a shot at the world tag titles. That's two of the finishes on your four-match "Raw" functionally doing the same thing, which is simply bad booking.

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But even if you can look past ALL of that ... Vega and Nile were also two of the six women that, by my count, appeared on the show at all. The others were Liv Morgan, who continues to be utterly uninterested in defending the Women's World Championship or feuding with anyone at all besides Rhea Ripley; Raquel Rodriguez, Morgan's enforcer; and Maxxine Dupri and Scarlett, who appeared briefly in backstage segments alongside the rest of their respective stables. That's it. No Ripley, no Damage CTRL, no Pure Fusion Collective, no Unholy Union, no Katana Chance and Kayden Carter, no Lyra Valkyria, no Natalya, no nobody. Certainly no Nia Jax, Bianca Belair, or Jade Cargill, so no storyline advancement whatsoever for the two women's matches happening at Crown Jewel, on the "Raw" go-home show for the PLE. Watching "Raw" this week, you wouldn't have known either match was happening. Not even The Wyatt Sicks showed up to give us a brief Nikki Cross appearance.

I get that there's Bloodline stuff going on and they needed three segments for the tag title contender's match, and I get that the show is only two hours right now. But none of that is really an excuse. This show took up valuable air time with Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser, which has no stakes and is building to nothing, and Damian Priest vs. Dominik Mysterio because apparently Priest is still feuding with The Judgment Day. We couldn't have gotten IYO SKY vs. Piper Niven or something instead?

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A lack of women's representation on a two-hour show is a problem, whether that show is "WWE Raw" or "AEW Dynamite." Do better.

Written by Miles Schneiderman

Loved: R-Truth steals yet another scene

National treasure, international treasure, whatever you want to call him, it's clear that everybody loves R-Truth. Throughout his career, but especially since returning from injury at Survivor Series in 2023, Truth has entertained thoroughly in just about any segment he's ever been in. And beyond that, at 52 years old, he's still just about as dependable as they come in terms of in-ring work. Plus, he looks damn near the same as he did since showing up in WWE as K-Krush in 2000. (How do you do it, Mr. Killings? Please share.) And tonight, once again, given minimal screen time but making the most of it, Truth outshined everyone with his comedic timing and trademark one-liners.

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Truth telling Alpha Academy that they look so much better since getting rid of "that short, ugly guy that be screamin' at you all the time" was met with Otis asking, "You talking about Master Gable?" in response, to which Truth dropped, "Otis, you can't say that on TV."

Closing the segment by running into Pete Dunne, Truth shouted out, "What's up, Butch? You seen Pete?" drawing cackles from the crowd (and this guy here at home) and leaving Dunne bewildered, annoyed, and possibly seeking a meeting with Truth in the ring soon enough, I'd imagine.

But in between those interludes was Truth showing that he's not just about the giggles, and R-Truth the character, while every bit the treasure we recognize him to be, can still get down to business when needed. With The Miz interrupting his chat with Maxxine Dupri and Co., begging for Truth's help against The Wyatt Sicks, The Final Testament, or both, Truth duped him by agreeing at first and then saying he had something he wanted to give him, and then slapping the taste out of his mouth. Just perfect. (A pathetic Miz is the best Miz as well, by the way, and him at Truth's mercy here as he runs scared was a perfect catalyst to getting him back to a potentially championship-level of pathetic.) Of course, Truth then wraps the spot by getting in a downed Miz's face and quipping, "Good luck with The Wyatts! Y'all gonna die!"

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Masterful. May he continue entertaining us, and simply being outstanding at his job, for precisely as long as he is able and cares to do so.

Written by Jon Jordan

Hated: No build for the biggest Crown Jewel matches

This was kind of mentioned earlier but I think we should circle back: Having two Champion vs. Champion matches on a Premium Live Event card should be a big deal, especially when a brand new title is on the line. However, that doesn't seem to be the case for Cody Rhodes vs. GUNTHER and Liv Morgan vs. Nia Jax to determine the inaugural WWE Crown Jewel Men's and Women's Champions.

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Although these two matches may not be the ones I'm most excited for on the Crown Jewel card, WWE has been heavily pushing them over the course of the past few weeks and it makes little sense to do little to nothing to hype up these matches on "Raw" one last time before the Premium Live Event. Rhodes was nowhere to be found tonight despite his previous "Raw" appearances, GUNTHER was shown speaking in one short little video and the Men's Crown Jewel Championship appeared briefly at the very top of the show. Morgan, on the other hand, was more concerned with helping Dominik Mysterio defeat Damian Priest alongside the rest of Judgment Day instead of preparing for her match against Jax. It seems like such a missed opportunity to do something big and memorable to make one last impression on fans, and it felt like the Bloodline vs. Bloodline six-man tag team match happening at Crown Jewel (which itself is almost certainly just build for the upcoming Men's WarGames match) was far more important than anything so frivolous as a world championship.

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Written by Olivia Quinlan

Loved: A fun exhibition of tag team wrestling

This week's "WWE Raw" saw a really fun three-way tag tournament finals match between the revamped War Raiders, LWO's Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee, and the New Day's Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston, with each and every challenger having their story furthered by the events of this bout regardless of the result. Mysterio caught the ire of American Made's Chad Gable to cost his and Lee's LWO team, Woods and Kingston furthered their teased break up angle with a collapse in their teamwork, and then obviously the War Raiders got the best outcome for their run as they now line up to face Finn Balor and JD McDonagh.

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This really felt like the match that the tag division on Monday nights needed, with the reigning champions having only defended the titles once since winning them back in June as a result of the faction's embroiling in feuds with Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest over the months. It has become an issue that the tag division is not given the proper degree of care, and while this match was a positive step in the right direction and it certainly won't ease the issue, the real payoff lies in whether the Judgment Day will be dropping the titles to the War Raiders; it would make sense considering Balor and Dominik Mysterio's continued issues with Priest later in the main event of "Raw." For now, it was great to see a well-worked and fun tag match that helped to get all three teams over in what they're doing, within the closing stretch alone all teams looked like they could have conceivably won and I think the War Raiders are a great team to put the titles on and gear the division towards. Chad Gable and Rey Mysterio standing against one another either alone or in a faction war only promises great wrestling, and I am fully emotionally invested in the simmering issues between Woods and Kingston. There is more than enough for the tag team division to be getting on with, let's just hope it continues.

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Written by Max Everett

Hated: A big nothing sandwich

We're still in an era where WWE is figuring just what it has in a two-hour "Raw," so odd timing and odder pacing is to be expected after a three-hour format for so long. On top of that, with international travel on tap, like, now for a decent segment of the roster with Crown Jewel teed up for Saturday, sometimes you don't get your strongest shows in that situation. While this one didn't suck by any means, and surely the Hershey, Pennsylvania crowd will go home happy with whatever dark match action they get, Dominik Mysterio and Damian Priest holding down that main event spot didn't feel right from the moment it was announced to Mysterio's roll-up victory.

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For one, I'm about done with The Judgment Day stuff. It's served its purpose and should be lauded for its longevity and ability to pivot several times over, but we're dating back now all the way to when Adam Copeland was still Edge, before Rhea Ripley was Mami, and when Mysterio was still trying to get over as his daddy's son. These days we have Finn Balor tied to JD McDonagh when he could be doing so much more, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez hanging around, and Carlito part of the group—for some reason.

More than that, Priest should be back onto bigger and better things by now. His run as World Heavyweight Champion was effectively unspectacular and I'd like to see him get another go at that without all the drama that comes with a faction in tow. But most of all, thinking precisely about this match tonight, what did it do for anyone, other than further tension among a group that should have been dissolved long ago. It's time for the bust-up. Past time.

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Written by Jon Jordan

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